


Broken noses and babysitting

by xyzan21



Series: Merlin, the servant's protector [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Gen, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, Protective Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25311355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xyzan21/pseuds/xyzan21
Summary: When one of the servant’s is hurt by a knight, Merlin goes to return the favour. After that he and the knights take over babysitting duties.(Technically you don’t need to read the first one but it would make sense to read it, as it takes place in the same universe.)
Series: Merlin, the servant's protector [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769374
Comments: 23
Kudos: 327





	Broken noses and babysitting

Merlin was sitting outside watching the Knights train while polishing armour when Alice, one of his fellow servants, came rushing towards him, three children following closely behind.

The children seemed unconcerned but Merlin could practically feel the tension and panic radiating off of Alice. The little group came to a stop in front of Merlin, panting and red-faced.

“What’s going on, Alice?” he asked gently.

Alice dropped to her knees beside Merlin. She shot a nervous glance at the children and the surrounding Knights. Only when she was sure none of them were close enough to overhear did she lean in and hurriedly whisper into his ear: “Nell was serving one of the older Knights. One that served under the former King. And well, I don’t know the details but when Maisie and I found her, she was hiding in an alcove. He hit her. Half of her face is bruised and she’s bleeding from somewhere though I didn’t have enough time to get a proper look. We didn’t want the children to see. I left Maisie with her and made my way here as quickly as possible.”

Merlin’s expression was grim but he kept his voice gentle and low: “In which alcove are they?”

“They are near the storage room that contains the Yuletide decorations.” 

“Ok, I’ll escort them to Gaius’ chambers and take care of the Knight. Do you know which one it was by any chance?”

There weren’t many of Uther’s old Knights anymore. Most of them were too old for battle and decided to reside some where on the countryside in one of their family’s residents. Most of the ones that remained in the castle though were unfriendly and just generally foul to be around. There were a few exceptions of course but they were few and far between.

Alice shook her head. “I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. You’ll need to ask her.”

“Ok. Thanks for coming to get me. Would you mind hanging around here for a while to make sure the King and Knights are tended to while I’m gone?”

She sent him a quick, wicked smile and huffed in amusement. “Of course not. I’ll take care of your friends while you take care of mine. It’s a fair exchange after all.”

He snorted and bumped her shoulder with his gently. “Once I’m back I can watch over the kids for a while and you can go visit Nell if you like.” 

“Thank you, Merlin. You are truly a godsend. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

He smiled at her. “Don’t mention it.” He got up and made his way off the training field.

He had just about made it before he felt a presence beside him and turned to face a slightly confused Gwaine. “Where are you headed off to, mate?”

He grinned reassuringly: “There’s something I need to take care of. In the meantime, Alice over there will be taking over for me.”

“Do you need some help?”

“No not right now. Maybe later. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Ok. Well hurry back before the princess throws a fit.” Gwaine winked at him and returned to where he was previously sparring with Lancelot. The latter sent Merlin an inquisitive look but Merlin just shook his head slightly and mouthed ‘later’ at him. Lancelot nodded and turned back to Gwaine.

Merlin made his way to the alcove as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. He didn’t want to attract attention to himself. Once he reached the corridor where the alcove was located, he slowed his steps. He made sure the corridor was still clear before ducking into the alcove and coming face to face with a fierce looking Maisie. Her features relaxed though once she recognised him and she stepped aside wordlessly to let him take a look at Nell.

He crouched down in front of her and waited for her to look at him before slowly raising his hand, letting it hover in the air a few inches from her face. When she gave a slight nod, he gently took hold of her chin and turned her face towards the light.

The right side of her face was already swollen, her eye and lip puffy. There was a bit of blood running out of her nose but it didn’t seem to be broken which was a relief. One of her pupils was bigger than the other though, he needed to get her to Gaius so he could determine how bad her concussion was. Her hair was a mess, likely he had pulled it to stop her from escaping but he fortunately didn’t damage her scalp. There were bruises around her neck accompanied by indents of fingernails on her neck and face. Gods above he really just wanted to murder the Knight who had done this to her.

“Can you tell me who did this?” he asked softly.

She hesitated for a moment before replying in a very quiet and timid voice: “Sir Dryden.”

He gave her a single nod. He didn’t like how brittle her voice sounded. Normally she was loud and boisterous. Well not all the time, she could be quiet and reserved but that was mostly with people she didn’t know. When she was with her friends, she was happy and exuberant.

“I’m going to take you and Maisie to Gaius, ok? He can take better care of you and give you something for the pain. And after that you can take the rest of the day off. Maisie and Alice can stay with you. I’ll send Alice to you once I’ve taken care of the situation. Lancelot will accompany her to make sure she gets there alright.”

When she made to protest, he interjected: “You have a concussion and you just went through an awful ordeal. Don’t think for a second that Gaius, I or your friends for that matter, will let you continue to work for the next few days. I’ll take care of your kids for the rest of the day and I’m sure there won’t be any problem finding someone to look after them for the time when you’re recovering. Alright?”

She nodded slightly and he released her chin to offer her his hands to help her get to her feet. When she swayed a little, he gestured to Maisie to take a hold of her. He didn’t think Nell would appreciate being held tight by a man right now after one had treated her so brutally only a short while before.

When Maisie had slung an arm around Nell’s waist, Merlin led the way to Gaius’ chambers. Once inside he had Maisie deposit Nell on the cot. Gaius walked over when he took note of the extra people and started examining Nell.

Merlin left him to it. He knew that Gaius would take care of her and knew that neither Nell or Maisie were afraid of being left alone with the old physician. When he was on his way to Sir Dryden’s chambers, he came across Sina and Andret who were carrying dirty dishes back to the kitchen, chatting amicably.

He called out to them and they stopped to wait for him. “Hello, Merlin.”

“Hey. Sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if you could inform the others that Nell, Maisie and Alice won’t be back to work today. Nell won’t be for a week or so and Alice and Maisie will probably take it in turns looking after her.”

Sina frowned, concerned for the wellbeing of her fellow servants and friends. “What happened?”

Merlin clenched his jaw before forcing himself to relax it. “Sir Dryden happened. She has a concussion, half her face is swelled up and he choked her.”

Sina and Andret scowled. There were some castle occupants that all of the servants disliked, the old Knight was one of them. The hatred towards those only worsened when one of their peers was harmed. The servants of the castle were like a big family. Always looking out for each other and doing their best to protect and support one another, they had to in a world where they were practically worthless in the eyes of those they worked for.

Sometimes servants would go around messing up whatever they could get away with when one of the Knights or nobles mistreated one of their own. Which meant that for weeks everything from their meals, their laundry, their schedules and bathwater was in total disarray.

“Did you take care of him yet?” Sina wanted to know.

“On my way right now. I just wanted to get the word out that there are going to be some holes in the schedule.”

Sina nodded, glad to know the man would get what was coming to him.

“I can take over for Nell while she’s taking time off,” Andret piped up. “She took over for me when… you know. I’ll gladly return the favour now.”

Merlin smiled at him. “That’s very kind of you, Andret. Oh, just so that you know I’ll look after the kids for the rest of the day but it would be great if you could either take that over or give them to someone else. I’m sure Ms. Esmeralda down in the lower town wouldn’t mind looking after three extra children for a few days.”

Andret nodded: “I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Ok great. Thank you. I need to go now and I’m sure you do too. See you guys later.”

They said their goodbyes and Merlin quickly made his way towards Sir Dryden’s chambers.

It was routine by now to send his magic to check for other occupants and silence the chambers. He really couldn’t have someone come walking in while he was beating up a Knight. The room also automatically locked once he was inside. He didn’t want the person to flee before he was done with them. 

He didn’t bother knocking, just barged right in. The man would already be angry with him and Merlin wanted him as angry as he could get. He wanted the man to be incapable of making rational decisions. He would be easier to handle this way. Not that he would be giving Merlin any trouble as it was but this just made it a little more fun. He enjoyed seeing the exact moment where their anger turned into fear, the moment when they realised, they had fucked up and there was nothing they could do to stop him from giving them exactly what they deserved.

Sir Dryden looked up from whatever he was working on. He didn’t look impressed or particularly amused by Merlin’s sudden appearance. Well too bad. Merlin wasn’t particularly impressed or amused by his behaviour or existence in general.

“What are you doing here. Where’s the girl. I sent her to fetch me some wine over an hour ago. Why hasn’t she returned yet?” the Knight demanded.

Merlin growled in response. He had no patience for people who thought themselves better than others just because of the family they were born into, especially if said people abused their privilege.

The man just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“What makes you think you have the right to hit her black and blue, choke her and then demand her to serve you?” his voice was more of a snarl than anything. He hadn’t meant to let his anger take over quite so much but he wasn’t in a particularly forgiving mood right now.

“What gives me the right? I’m a Knight of Camelot. I have fought in battle and wars to keep this place safe. I have protected Camelot and it’s people the least they can do is serve me properly in return.”

“So, you decided you hurting the people you swore to protect is not against the oath? Only when it’s foreign power will you step in?”

“You know nothing of nobility, honour or the oaths I took.”

“No? I bet I know a great deal more about being noble and honourable than you do.”

The man snarled and came striding towards him. Hand raised, ready to strike.

Merlin caught his wrist and twisted. Bones popped and snapped out of place.

“Argh! Fuck you, you little whore!”

Merlin shrugged, clasped his hands behind his back and took a step back, waiting for the man to advance again. He dodged the next angry swipe at his head and kicked out instead. His foot connected with the man’s shin. While the man was crouching slightly, he brought his hand down in a vicious arc, dragging his fingernails across the knight’s face.

Merlin punched him in the stomach when he reached out to strike Merlin again and pushed the man towards the nearest wall.

He grabbed the left side of Dryden’s face and smashed the other side of his hideous face into the wall. The Knight sagged a little. Merlin turned the Knight’s face again, grabbing the top with both hands and rammed his knee into the man’s nose. Dryden cried out in pain. Definitely broken.

Then he turned the man around and shoved his front into the wall. With one hand Merlin held the knight’s hands and arms together, preventing him from fighting back. 

With the other hand Merlin reached out and grabbed the man’s neck. He closed the hand around the knight’s windpipe and squeezed. When the chocking sounds stopped Merlin leaned forward and snarled into Dryden’s ear, who was just barely hanging on to consciousness: “King Arthur suggests you move to the land to live out the rest of your days.” That seemed to do the trick, the knight’s eyes rolled back into his head and his body went slack.

Merlin left the unconscious body of the Knight lying on the floor and made his way back to the training field. Before he stepped outside, he cast a glance at his hands. They were covered in blood, some of it had gotten under his nails he noted with mild distaste. He made sure nobody could see him before removing any signs of a fight from his body.

Then he walked out onto the field and was greeted by Gwaine’s bright grin, Lancelot’s knowing eyes, amused smiles from the other knights, an annoyed Arthur, a nervous Alice and two energetic children running up to him.

He caught Evie when she flung herself at him and twirled her around before setting her on his hip. Henry barrelled into him and flung his arms around Merlin’s waist and Merlin ruffled his hair in greeting. Both children were simultaneously and enthusiastically telling him about the training they had observed.

The third child, Julian, had stayed behind with Alice. He was the oldest at twelve and most of the time was pretty reserved and not as excitable as his eight-year-old brother or six-year-old sister.

While the children were nattering on, Merlin sent Alice a small nod. She sagged a little with relief. Merlin made his way over to her and beckoned to Lancelot to come over.

“Hey Lance, could you escort Alice to Gaius’ chambers?”

Lancelot sent her a small smile and offered her his hand to help her up. Merlin addressed Alice next.

“The three of you have the rest of the day off. I already spoke to Sina and Andret who agreed to take over and spread the word. And of course, she will get time off to recover. And you and Maisie can take it in turns looking after her if you wish. Gaius will tell you the rest.”

She reached out and squeezed his arm: “Thank you again, Merlin.”

“It was my pleasure. Now off you go. See to your friend.”

When Lancelot and Alice walked off, Merlin turned to his temporary charges. “Now then. Who wants to watch more of the knights training?”

Evie and Henry cheered loudly while Julian just shrugged. He didn’t really care for fighting. Merlin would have to find something else to entertain him with.

Merlin sat back down, leaning back against the castle wall. Julian to his left, Henry to his right and a jumpy Evie on his lap. They watched for a few minutes before Gwaine came over to join them.

He gave them his most devilish smile: “Would you like me to teach you some moves?”

Henry and Evie both looked up at Merlin with wide hopeful eyes. Merlin grinned at them and gently shoved Evie off his lap and towards Gwaine.

“Oh, alright just wait here for a second. I’ll get you some wood swords to practice with.”

He made his way over to the armoury and retrieved some light, wood swords. (The ones for Evie and Henry he made with magic when he didn’t find small enough ones.)

“Be careful,” he instructed before handing over the swords. The two kids were jumping up and down in excitement. Gwaine wasn’t much better. “And stay on the outskirts for goodness sake. I don’t want any of you injured. Understood?”

“Yes, Merlin,” the three of them chorused before they took off.

“So, what do you like doing?” he asked Julian.

The boy hesitated, looking at Merlin as if he was assessing him then shrugged and looked back at the field before answering. “I like to read but I’m not very good at it.”

Merlin contemplated this. He knew most of the townspeople couldn’t really read or write. He taught some of the servants when he came across one of them struggling or when he had a spare minute, he would gather a group of them that wanted to learn.

“So do I. Would you like to improve your reading skills?”

Julian scoffed quietly. “Who would teach me?”

Merlin shot him a wicked smile and held out his hand to the boy. “Come with and I can show you someone who would be overjoyed to tell you all about books.”

Julian’s eyes lit up and he grabbed Merlin’s hand.

Merlin left the boy with Geoffrey, who although he would deny it, enjoyed teaching people to read and the art of bookkeeping. Julian was apprenticing with him now.

What Merlin saw when he stepped back out on the training field was not what he had expected to see. Evie and Henry were no longer training with Gwaine. Their swords lay forgotten in the grass. Percival had both his arms raised and flexed, one child hanging from each arm. He was turning in a circle, the children were swinging around and laughing their heads off.

Arthur spotted Merlin, while he was watching the sight of the large knight entertaining the children.

“Where were you disappearing off to the whole time?” he sounded annoyed and angry but his eyes only held curiosity.

“Alice, the woman who was serving you, came to get me. One of her friends had been injured and she wanted me to look her over. A different friend stayed with her while she was waiting. I brought them to Gaius. That’s where I went to the first time. These are the children of the injured servant. And just now I brought Julian to Geoffrey. He’s Geoffrey’s new apprentice now.” 

Arthur frowned. “How did she get injured?”

Instead of answering directly Merlin said: “Wouldn’t you agree, Sire, that some of your father’s knights are getting a little too old to protect Camelot properly? Sir Dryden for example. He’s getting a little senile.”

Arthur’s jaw set. He had understood what Merlin had wanted to say. “Indeed. I think his retirement is long overdue. I should go inform him immediately.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary right now. It’s all taken care of. I think he got the message.”

“What did you do, _Mer_ lin?” Arthur asked suspiciously.

“What me? Look at me, Sire,” he gestured to his lanky form, showing off his clean and uninjured hands. “Do I really look like someone who could fight a Knight of Camelot and come out unharmed?” Merlin sent him an innocent smile.

Arthur glanced at his hands, then looked him up and down, a frown on his face. “Too right. You couldn’t even hurt a fly. Now get back to polishing or whatever else you should be doing right now.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it :)


End file.
